Newest VR user now on board

  • It took a full year for me to finally take the big step and move up to VR. I installed my Oculus Rift this afternoon and made two flights - one in the Cessna and one in the Learjet. I think both may be my current favorite in VR. The yucky resolution was certainly no surprise, although I am surprised at how well the gauges look when you move your head in really close. I learn slowly, so I bumped the goggles against the glareshield in the Lear more than once.

    I kept grabbing for the throttle and trim wheel in the Cessna so I stopped and activated the TPM panel. Using the Saitek Cessna hardware - Yoke, pedals, Trim wheel, TPM makes a big difference for me. I need to redo my sensors, I think. The yoke is not where it appears in the VR world. I keep reaching for it but missing it by a few inches. Those precious few sliders and buttons on the yoke will make a big difference in VR, I can tell already.

    JetPeter recommended using the Xbox 360 controller for the AP and heading/course changes. I ordered one and got it today, but wasn't smart enough to also order the USB charging cable so that will be another week of waiting.

    The big surprise was the absolutely outstanding views from the pilot's seat. Maybe inside even more than the scenery outside. It truly does approach the real thing. I guess that is why the few guys with Buttkickers have one up on all of us that don't have them. VR and Buttkickers give us sight and sound, er feel. I wonder what it will take to get the smell into the cockpit?

    OK. Now, where are those magic fingers, Jeff? 8o

    Regards,

    Ray

  • The downside is when I look down and see that I have no legs and no arms it scares the hell outta me but the view of the cockpit is absolutely awesome.

    I was off the coast of Monterey Bay and felt the urge to do a few commercial flight test maneuvers. A few lazy eights and chandelles felt almost natural. I'm not sure but when I was doing some 60 degree turns I think I could feel the Gs. hmmm. ;)

    Regards,

    Ray

  • +1 for the ButtKicker, the rumble of the Cessna engine felt very familiar along with the takeoff roll and liftoff - the thud on landing is nice too. We just need those 2nd gen VR controllers that fit like gloves so we can interact with the cockpit switches/dials (tactile feedback) - maybe by summer ...

  • Well, whatever you do, don’t wonder what it would be like with motion cues too... ;)

    VR in Aerofly FS2 is just stunnng. I alternate between the Cessna, the Bücker, and the Corsair. Had just a gorgeous session last night shooting touch and goes at Monterey.

    But Buttkickers add a huge amount to the VR experience. Highly recommended.

    And welcome to VR. It’s the kind of thing that’s impossible to describe to people and they just have to see for themselves to understand why we rave so much about it. :thumbup:

    Thrustmaster HOTAS Warthog, MFG Crosswind pedals, 2 dof Motion, Valve Index

  • Yes, VR is a game changer! I use it almost exclusively for my three primary flight sims, DCS, XP-11 and AFS2. My helIcopter flying, hovering and landing skills have improved dramatically in XP (B407 and B412), and DCS Huey.

    One thing I should recommend is to take it easy at first until you get your "VR legs".

    Don't overdo it like I did performing aerobatics and flying for over an hour on my first few flights in the rift. VR sickness is real and it eventually got me, lol. I had to put the thing down for a couple of days. When I came back to it, I took short flights until I built up a tolerance.

    Enjoy

    Redtail

    KFRG, KTEB, KEWR, KLGA

    ~Straighten up and fly right~

    DESKTOP: i7-7700k @5GHz (water cooled), Nvidia GTX 1080Ti FTW3, 32GB DDR4, 500GB SSD, Oculus Rift CV1, Windows 10 Home 64 bit,

    TM HOTAS Warthog (large spring removed), Saitek PRO Flight Combat Rudder Pedals, YOKO yoke!

    Laptop (gaming): Acer Predator Helios 500- Intel Core i7-8750H @4.1GHz, Nvidia GTX 1070, 32GB DDR4, 256GB SSD/1TB HDD.

    Gametrix JetSeat FSE (Flight Sim Edition)-USB Vibrating pad. Nextlevel V3 Motion Platform / Sim cockpit.

    Edited once, last by Redtail (January 19, 2018 at 5:29 AM).

  • I got to try out the rift for the first time today too, but only one in a VR "arcade." I was impressed, and even managed to use my glasses. However, they claim 110 degrees of field of view, and I just don't see that. I held out my arms to where I figured the field was, and it was not close to that by my estimate. Anyone got any thoughts about that in the AFS2 environment? Anyway, I will now begin getting the parts to build a new computer to run it all. AFS2, and my old FSX (or maybe upgrade to P3D) for sure. Thanks Ray for sharing your views.

    - Kenneth

  • I got to try out the rift for the first time today too, but only one in a VR "arcade." I was impressed, and even managed to use my glasses. However, they claim 110 degrees of field of view, and I just don't see that. I held out my arms to where I figured the field was, and it was not close to that by my estimate. Anyone got any thoughts about that in the AFS2 environment? Anyway, I will now begin getting the parts to build a new computer to run it all. AFS2, and my old FSX (or maybe upgrade to P3D) for sure. Thanks Ray for sharing your views.

    - Kenneth

    as for the fov . . . I think it is fine in the cockpit and a huge improvement over triple monitors. The next gen VR will most likely have a greatly improved fov, maybe slightly greater than 180 deg. In addition to double the resolution. Think 4k.

    Build the fastest you can afford.

    Regards,

    Ray

  • I found it is worth learning to define some extra view points near the instruments you can quickly switch back and forth between instead of having to lean in....

    yes, that would be very helpful. Are you using TrackIR? Can you use TIR in VR?

    Maybe the new Magic Hands will address the zoomed views. I have the yoke slides and switches full up with zoom, look increase, look decrease, etc.

    Any chance you could post some of your favorites.

    Regards,

    Ray

  • The downside is when I look down and see that I have no legs and no arms it scares the hell outta me but the view of the cockpit is absolutely awesome.

    Ray

    You can enable the display of the pilot body viewed from the PilotCamera

    For example in the c172.tmd change

    <[uint32][ShowInside][CameraCopilot CameraRearSeat CameraRearSeatSide]>

    to

    <[uint32][ShowInside][CameraPilot CameraCopilot CameraRearSeat CameraRearSeatSide]>

    I find seeing the pilot body really helps the VR immersion

    cheers

    /Stu

    i7-6700K CPU @ 4.00GHz | ASUS Z170-A | 16Gb DDR4 | Samsung SSD 950 PRO NVME M.2 256GB | Samsung SSD 850 EVO 1TB | GeForce GTX 1080 Ti on GP102-A GPU | Oculus CV1 | Windows 10

  • In some ways, the fov is irrelevant because it is 360deg in all directions, you just turn your head naturally rather than staring at a fixed screen. If you imagine you are wearing a helmet and goggles to fly/drive then it's fine I think.

    Also, Ray, you have to try a few things, like getting up and walking around as you are flying. depending on your space, you can stand up, have a close look at the outside of the aircraft, walk along the wing, all that stuff. Put it on pause and you can still move around in 3-D, that's also pretty weird.

    i5-12600K/MSI RTX 3080/Win11/64Gb RAM/Asus Xonar DX+ Beyer DT990 pro headphones/LG 34" UM65 @2560x1080/Quest Pro/TM Warthog+VKB MkIV Rudder pedals

  • In some ways, the fov is irrelevant because it is 360deg in all directions, you just turn your head naturally rather than staring at a fixed screen. If you imagine you are wearing a helmet and goggles to fly/drive then it's fine I think.

    Also, Ray, you have to try a few things, like getting up and walking around as you are flying. depending on your space, you can stand up, have a close look at the outside of the aircraft, walk along the wing, all that stuff. Put it on pause and you can still move around in 3-D, that's also pretty weird.

    Wow. I did not know this. Thanks. ;)

    Regards,

    Ray

  • In some ways, the fov is irrelevant because it is 360deg in all directions, you just turn your head naturally rather than staring at a fixed screen. If you imagine you are wearing a helmet and goggles to fly/drive then it's fine I think.

    Also, Ray, you have to try a few things, like getting up and walking around as you are flying. depending on your space, you can stand up, have a close look at the outside of the aircraft, walk along the wing, all that stuff. Put it on pause and you can still move around in 3-D, that's also pretty weird.

    Holy Toledo, John. This is amazing. Not only can you walk around ( if you have enough room) but you can get in the back seat and pull up a chair and fly from there and just sightsee. Wild stuff.

    I don't notice the fuzzy resolution very much when doing this walk around or discovery. This adds yet another level of enjoyment that I never thought possible.

    I wrote a review of the A2A Simulations Cessna 182 a few years ago and you could do a sort of walk around and use a towbar to pull the plane out of the hangar and maybe push it back in. At the time I thought this is about as good as it gets in flight simulation. Not anymore.

    Now I have to clean up my room and make my play area a lot larger. :) Thanks John.

    Regards,

    Ray

  • Hi Ray,

    Thanks again for addressing another important point for one who is considering getting into VR. Any fuzzy rendition that there might be, can be eliminated by the mind because of the immersion factor. I think that's what you are saying!

    And, as good as it gets in flight sim? How about this for a vision of perfection. A2A aircraft in the AFS2 environment while in VR mode. That's worth hoping for. O that some great power that be would say (with Jean Luc Picard of Star Trek) "Make it so."

    - Kenneth

  • Hi Ray,

    Thanks again for addressing another important point for one who is considering getting into VR. Any fuzzy rendition that there might be, can be eliminated by the mind because of the immersion factor. I think that's what you are saying!

    And, as good as it gets in flight sim? How about this for a vision of perfection. A2A aircraft in the AFS2 environment while in VR mode. That's worth hoping for. O that some great power that be would say (with Jean Luc Picard of Star Trek) "Make it so."

    - Kenneth

    You gotta be careful though. You can step out of the Cessna at 5,000 feet with the VR goggles on and look up and down the top of the wing and look around like a bug stuck on the fuselage. It is best to have something to hang onto so you don't fall down. You can step right though the cabin wall and be in the back seat and scope everything out from that vantage point.

    I will have to see if I can walk back through the cabin of the Learjet while on autopilot. I can practice taking a leak and grabbing a donut. That should be a good test of my Oculus Touch skills.

    Regards,

    Ray

  • yes, that would be very helpful. Are you using TrackIR? Can you use TIR in VR?

    Maybe the new Magic Hands will address the zoomed views. I have the yoke slides and switches full up with zoom, look increase, look decrease, etc.

    Any chance you could post some of your favorites.

    Regards,

    Ray

    No, I'm not sure what TIR would add to VR, bu I perhaps misunderstand your question. I've only defined two view points for the Q400, one for the PFD before the pilot position, and one for the AP+console. By assigning back/forward viewpoints to a couple of joystick buttons, I can swiftly get a glance at the instruments and move back to the pilot position. I've added this to the Q400.tdm file. Use with care, AND BACK UP THE FILE BEFORE CHANGING!

    <[camera_head][PFD][]

    <[string8][Body][Fuselage]>

    <[tmvector3d][R0][ 12.05 0.41 0.45 ]>

    <[tmvector3d][Direction][ 1.0 0.0 -0.5 ]>

    <[float64][Kf][10.0]>

    <[float64][Df][1.00]>

    <[float64][Kt][0.03]>

    <[float64][Dt][0.02]>

    <[bool][InCockpit][true]>

    <[string8][Tags][cockpit pilot left]>

    >

    <[camera_head][CameraPilot][]

    <[string8][Body][Fuselage]>

    <[tmvector3d][R0][ 11.79 0.51 0.64 ]>

    <[tmvector3d][Direction][ 1.0 0.0 -0.2 ]>

    <[float64][Kf][10.0]>

    <[float64][Df][1.00]>

    <[float64][Kt][0.03]>

    <[float64][Dt][0.02]>

    <[bool][InCockpit][true]>

    <[string8][Tags][cockpit pilot left]>

    >

    <[camera_head][AutoPilot][]

    <[string8][Body][Fuselage]>

    <[tmvector3d][R0][ 12.05 0.11 0.45 ]>

    <[tmvector3d][Direction][ 1.0 0.0 -0.5 ]>

    <[float64][Kf][10.0]>

    <[float64][Df][1.00]>

    <[float64][Kt][0.03]>

    <[float64][Dt][0.02]>

    <[bool][InCockpit][true]>

    <[string8][Tags][cockpit pilot left]>

    >

  • Yes, VR is a game changer! I use it almost exclusively for my three primary flight sims, DCS, XP-11 and AFS2. My helIcopter flying, hovering and landing skills have improved dramatically in XP (B407 and B412), and DCS Huey.

    One thing I should recommend is to take it easy at first until you get your "VR legs".

    Don't overdo it like I did performing aerobatics and flying for over an hour on my first few flights in the rift. VR sickness is real and it eventually got me, lol. I had to put the thing down for a couple of days. When I came back to it, I took short flights until I built up a tolerance.

    Enjoy

    You know me...

    That is the FIRST thing I did in VR was aerobatics. Hahahahaha.

    Welcome to the club JetJockey10!!

  • No, I'm not sure what TIR would add to VR, bu I perhaps misunderstand your question. I've only defined two view points for the Q400, one for the PFD before the pilot position, and one for the AP+console. By assigning back/forward viewpoints to a couple of joystick buttons, I can swiftly get a glance at the instruments and move back to the pilot position. I've added this to the Q400.tdm file. Use with care, AND BACK UP THE FILE BEFORE CHANGING!

    ng8][Tags][cockpit pilot left]>

    >



    OK. thanks for the info. I have copied it over to the Q400. Now I have to wait until I can crank up my newest toy - a xBox 360 controller. I should be able to assign these custom views to a couple of buttons. If I can get it working maybe I can do something similar for the Learjet panel. This may be a necessary mod for each of the planes.

    Thanks for the post.

    Regards,

    Ray

  • Any fuzzy rendition that there might be, can be eliminated by the mind because of the immersion factor. I think that's what you are saying!

    Well, yes, but not always forever. I have flown AFS2 in VR only for half a year or so but after the release of Utah I ditched the Rift and now I've been using 2D only. Yes, the immersion is awesome but I totally got fed up with the low resolution making a literall mess of the scenery. I found all the detail that is added on for instance the Denver airport is totally wasted in VR. You can't even see what's on the airport during approach. In 2D however you can really appreciate every little detail that has been added. The same goes for detailed addons like LOWI from Orbx. Very immersive in VR indeed but all you see are a bunch of pixels constantly fighting for space on the Rift's screens.

    I am sure some if not appreciate the immersion so much that they don't care but I really got totally fed up with it. It is either the immersion or the detail and I prefer the detail, also because the immersion has quite a few drawbacks (heavy device on your head, feeling too much 'out of this world', not being able to do anything else while flying, etc.).

    Just wanted to let you know about the other side of VR. ;)

    Oh, and btw, it is not 'that there MIGHT be': it's DEFENITELY there. Always. All the time. After my latest reinstall of Windows I didn't even install the Rift.

  • The big surprise was the absolutely outstanding views from the pilot's seat. Maybe inside even more than the scenery outside. It truly does approach the real thing. I guess that is why the few guys with Buttkickers have one up on all of us that don't have them. VR and Buttkickers give us sight and sound, er feel. I wonder what it will take to get the smell into the cockpit?

    Heheh, I was flying a CATIII approach into JFK in the A320, was thinking the only thing missing is that slight smell of jet fuel. The buttkicker combined with VR (and a 1080TI) is quite mind blowing!